The knowledge most ordinary Chinese have of Korea, apart from that derived from old war movies, probably relates to Korean barbequed meat, kimchi, rice and assorted vegetables served in stone pots.
Several years ago, Beijing experienced another sample of Korean culture, as young people started idolizing pop stars from the Republic of Korea and tried to imitate them by dying their hair golden and dressing like Koran movie stars.
Just as people marvel at the appearance of so many Korean restaurants in Beijing, another popular Korean name has recently entered millions of Chinese people's popular vocabulary. Dae Jang Geum, aka Jewel in the Palace, is a 70 part period drama series that has attracted record numbers of Chinese viewers who have become glued to their TV sets.
The TV drama which was a hit in ROK in 2003 is the story of a young girl, Jang Geum, who started out as an apprentice cook in the imperial kitchen with the purpose of exacting revenge for her mother, a wronged former lady-of-honour in the palace. As she grows up she not only meets with great challenges in cooking, but also gets involved in the royal power struggles in the palace.
She is exiled by her enemies, with her beloved teacher, also her mother's friend, dying in the process. After much hard training she returns to the imperial palace as a doctor. She wins the trust of the royal family and becomes the first woman doctor in history to be in charge of the emperor's treatment, getting the title of "Dae (great) Jang Geum." She finally avenges the death of her mother and teacher by revealing her enemy's misdeeds.
A week after it was first shown on Hunan TV in September, the show shot straight to the top of the ratings chart.
The programme is now being shown as late as 10 pm-11:45 PM every weekday evening, yet still maintains record numbers of viewers with 3.15 percent of the total TV audience in late September, according to Cvsc-Sofres Media, a TV audience rating company.
The book of the series translated into Chinese has already appeared in bookstores in China. In Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, it has become fashionable to take wedding photos in the "hanbok," Korean traditional costumes because of the show.
The heroine's name has also been used to promote Korean food and tourism in China. Lee Young Ae, who plays the heroine, visited Hong Kong on a promotional tour while Yang Mi Gyeong, who plays her cookery teacher, visited Changsha.
Besides the intriguing plots, the series drew in the audience with well presented food, stunning imperial palace scenes, traditional social etiquette and costumes, along with concepts of healthy upkeep with food and traditional herbal medicines.
The Chinese audience has found, with both surprise and delight, Chinese written characters used in Korea, treatment methods such as acupuncture and herbal soup (originated in China) and Chinese medical classics widely read and quoted in the drama.
The deep influence of Chinese culture in Korea and the friendly dialogue between the two countries are reflected in the hit show.
The popularity of the Korean series has also given the Chinese food for thought.
While many of the ideas of nutritional food and traditional herbal medicines originated in China, there has not been such well produced TV series made in China featuring these aspects of traditional culture. While these national treasures have become so deep-rooted in Korea, it seems that they are not flourishing in the same way in their country of origin.
Another point highlighted by the show is that although China's film-makers have pushed the envelope on the world entertainment scene, some young people claim that there are not so many TV soap drama series as eye-catching as this one.
To promote their careers in China, actors and actresses from the Republic of Korea have been starring in Chinese movies and TV series and the trend seems set to continue in the future.
The popularity of the exotic series has certainly reminded the Chinese how precious their traditional culture is.
Dae Jang Geum is widely available on DVD in many Chinese audio-video shops, in Chinese and Korean, with English subtitles. Prices range from 140 yuan (US$17) to 300 yuan (US$37).
(China Daily October 17, 2005)
